The present invention relates generally to microwave systems, and more particularly, to an optically phased conformal antenna and photonic interconnect therefor that may be used in such microwave systems.
Advanced microwave systems such as radars and countermeasures systems require large numbers of individually phased components mounted on surfaces which may not be flat. What is needed is a technique for applying, interconnecting, phasing, and cooling large numbers of microwave integrated circuit chips on curved surfaces. It is most desirable that this technique involve minimum parts count, a minimum number of processing steps, and non-critical assembly tolerances.
Furthermore, optical interconnections between electronic chips can handle wide bandwidths with either minimal time delays, or controlled time delays. However, it is difficult to interface microwave integrated circuit chips with optical fibers. What is needed is a technique for connecting large numbers of microwave integrated circuit chips and fibers with minimum parts count, minimum number of processing steps, and non-critical assembly tolerances, and which is particularly directed to interconnecting the microwave integrated circuit chips.